Māori roll or general roll? It’s your choice. He aha ō whakāro.

The Māori Electoral Option gives New Zealanders of Māori descent the opportunity to choose whether they want to be on the Māori Electoral Roll or the General Electoral Roll when they vote in the next two General Elections.

The next Māori Electoral Option will take place from 25 March to 24 July 2013. It only happens once every five years or so, just after the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings.

It’s an important choice, as it determines who will represent you in Parliament. If you’re on the General Electoral Roll, you will vote for an MP in a General Electorate at the next General Election. If you’re on the Māori Electoral Roll, you will vote for an MP in a Māori Electorate at the next General Election. Every voter, regardless of which electoral roll they are on or where they live in the country, has the same list of political parties to choose from when using their Party Vote.

The results of the Māori Electoral Option together with the results of the 2013 Census are used to determine the number of Māori and General Electorates in Parliament and to revise electorate boundaries.

If you’re enrolled to vote, and you said you were of New Zealand Māori descent when you enrolled, you will get your personalised Māori Electoral Option pack in the mail in the week starting 25 March 2013. It will give you all the information you need to make your choice and an enrolment form.

New Zealanders who have registered an overseas mailing address with the Electoral Commission will receive their personalised Māori Electoral Option pack at their overseas address.

Once you have made your choice and returned your form, you will not be able to change roll types again until the next Māori Electoral Option. Under current electoral legislation, people already enrolled can only change the type of electoral roll they are on during a Māori Electoral Option. You will not be able to change roll types again until the next Māori Electoral Option.

If you are of New Zealand Māori descent but didn’t say so when you first enrolled, you can still take part. And if you’re not yet enrolled, do it now!
Enrolling is easy